The Latest Breaking News from Johann Zarco

Threats of extreme winds, which ultimately came to pass on Sunday and forced the sprint to be abandoned, forced MotoGP to bring the Australian Grand Prix forward to Saturday. But it proved a memorable one for a paddock stalwart who celebrated his long-awaited maiden win.

The threat of extreme winds for Sunday forced MotoGP to alter the schedule for the Australian GP weekend, with the main race – won by Johann Zarco – taking place on Saturday.

Pramac Ducati rider Martin started the 27-lap main race at Phillip Island from pole, and led the entire distance up until the final lap, having opted to run a soft rear tyre.

Pramac Ducati rider Martin started the 27-lap main race at Phillip Island from pole, and led the entire distance up until the final lap, having opted to run a soft rear tyre.

South African rider Binder left it until the very end of the hour-long session on Friday afternoon to set the quickest lap of the day at the picturesque Phillip Island track, a 1m27.993s.

Let no one be fooled: as much as the Italian brand wants to publicly disassociate itself from the agreement that will link Marc Marquez to Gresini, it would be naive to think that the Spaniard will be riding a Desmosedici next season without approval from Ducati or, at least, of…

Martin has slashed long-time championship leader Francesco Bagnaia’s advantage to just three points following his victories in both the sprint and main race of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Motegi, giving him five wins in the last six races.

With Wednesday's announcement confirming the Spaniard's departure at the end of this season, Honda now faces the very complicated scenario of having to find a replacement for the most successful rider in its history.

The VR46 Ducati rider launched from fourth on the grid in last Sunday’s flag-to-flag grand prix at Motegi and would ultimately go on to finish there.